2013 Guide to Harford Business

The main lobby of the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, a member of Upper Chesapeake Health in Bel Air.

The main lobby of the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, a member of Upper Chesapeake Health in Bel Air. (Photo by Lloyd Fox)

Jennifer Broadwater

Harford County has a civilian labor force of approximately 140,000 people with a population of about 249,000.

The private sector accounts for the largest share of jobs held by county residents, 62,000 in all. According to the Harford County Office of Economic Development, this includes about 18,000 who work in trade, transportation and utilities; 9,500 working in professional business services, and 10,000 working in educational and health services.

The single largest private sector employer in the county is Upper Chesapeake Health Systems, a not-for-profit company that is part of University of Maryland Medical System and owns and operates the county’s two hospitals. It has a work force of more than 3,000 people.

Various governments — local, state and federal — account for a substantial portion of the jobs held by county residents. The county school system has more than 5,000 employees and the county government employs roughly 1,900 people.

Nearly 16,000 civilians are employed at Aberdeen Proving Ground, where growth in recent years can be attributed to the U.S. Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC). The decision to shift more than 7,500 Department of Defense jobs to Maryland military bases also brought additional civilians and contractors to the region. Find out more from Harford County’s BRAC task force at harfordcountymd.gov/BRAC.

As of June 2012, the average weekly wage in the county was $917, an almost 3 percent increase from June 2011, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.